Today I decided to do a little bit of landscaping now that the weather is a bit cooler.  Frying in my yard is not at the top of my happy list.  I started pulling weeds in the front, working my way around the house.  When I was over by my bedroom window, I heard a buzzing noise.  Very puzzled by this, knowing I didn’t leave anything on in my room, I got closer and listened.  It sounded like a very noisy fan in my room, which there is not one in there.  Next thought… what in the world did the kids do in my room??!  As I got a little closer, I found the culprit.

Between my bedroom windows, on the brick, was the largest ball of electrical tape I had ever seen.  Under it?  An outlet with a plug and cord coming out of it.  I followed the short cord to a box hanging on the brick.  An outdoor lighting timer.  A timer for lights that I took out right after moving in the house.  Four years ago.  Apparently there were two timers, as I never saw this one.  I really thought after all the landscaping and home improvements that I knew this place inside out and backwards.  Now if you know me, you know my immediate thought.  I’ve been paying for this stupid thing to run for four years?!!?! How much did that cost?

Yes, I calculated it.  Not an easy task either, since the kilowatt hours for these are not listed.  I had to use some formula I found on a website to calculate the voltage into kilowatt hours.  My estimate?  $57.82 for the four years.  $57.82 wasted, as the wires were attached to nothing.

How could I not know about that after living here four years?  What else have I missed?  I spent some time looking around my house, behind all of the bushes, to be sure I found everything there is to find.  I didn’t find any more outlets, but I’m still looking for the door to the secret room where they hid the money.